Reuters and BBC respond to SIS criticism: “We take seriously our obligation to report the news fairly and accurately, and were careful here to report both the Interior Ministry’s account of the situation as well as information we received independently from other sources,” a Reuters spokesperson said, commenting on the State Information Service’s protest of the newswire’s coverage of the Wahat terrorist attack. SIS accused Reuters and the BBC of “inaccurate coverage” and said they had made “grave professional mistakes” by relying on unidentified security sources. The argument centers around Reuters relying on “three security sources” telling it as many as 52 members of the police service were killed in the attack, when the official narrative is that the death toll is 16. The BBC “was told that 53 officers and conscripts had been killed.” SIS further challenged the two news agencies by submitting requests to both Reuters and BBC offices in Cairo to produce the names of those killed as proof that the casualty figures they reported are correct, according to Al Shorouk.

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